Wednesday, 10 August 2016

Dutch Vistor sees Wales as a "Hellhole".

Wales Online have an article which has the headline

This Dutch internet user has a hilariously exaggerated view of Wales

Only I didn't fond itself hiariousl .Posting on a Reddit thread the user said the country had "no job prospects, poor people everywhere, poorly educated/less developed people all around you and no future prospects what so ever."

Asked to justify his post calling Wales a "hellhole", he wrote: "I have been to Wales once and what I saw there was terrible. Unemployed people, people shopping in cloathes (sic) that looked like they were 20 years old and were very worn down. Many cars that were 20 years or older, and not the classic cars, realy (sic) ragged down cars that would be taken off the road anywhere else in north west Europe. Centuries old infrastructure, very porely (sic) maintained, with in contrast, some new developments (subsidised by the EU regional development fund, shockingly not a UK development fund btw)."People living in poorly maintained houses and I saw also a lot of poorly maintained sidewalks. I was told there that the bus connections were only barely there, and were downsized year after year. I saw not much economic activity at all. The only plus side of Wales were (sic) the mountains. Always interesting for me as a Dutch person."Wales, a hellhole to live in."

Wales Online seem to miss the point of tha article because they gain some relif that People have been quick to correct the obviously misled Internet user, describing his claims as a "massive exaggeration" and "silly".

One person wrote:

"Underdeveloped = Lush green land, fields, mountains, nature reserves, stunning clifftop views just a stones throw away from the capital city."If that's a hellhole, that's the kind of hellhole I like to live in."Another said: "Definitely never been to Wales."

People have been quick to correct the obviously misled Internet user, describing his claims as a "massive exaggeration" and "silly".

Another wrote

I will not apologise for the continued existence of Offa's Dyke, nor Devil's Bridge, or Cardiff Castle," .

The point is it was the scenery of our Nation or our infrastructure but the poverty of our people.

Take a lok at the Map pf the pprests parts of Europe

We rank with Eastern Europe in the poverty league where the Netherlands are one of the richest.The Dutch writer could be talking about a Third World Nation an image that years of rule from Westminster either by the Tories or Labour.Wales Online may think its hilarious for a visitor to see us in this way but I don't.To misquote Thomas Paine "they praise the feathers but ignore the dying bird."

3 comments:

I am ashamed of Scotland, at least the bits I live in. Having been round the continent and elsewhere nowhere else looks like it has been bombed. I was in parts of Germany we bombed flat during the war, they are a picture of health, not so here. Travelling on a into Dunermline, aroad which is now beginning to descend into a dirt track, and having been in The Netherlands, Belgium, France Germany and Switzerland, I have not come across a road anywhere like it. Considering we are supposed to be part of one of the richest countries in the world, someone, not us has the money.I cannot say that everyone is driving old tat cars because that is not true but people are getting more down at heel and shabby due to lack of money. Should we be proud of a country which lays claim to more people very year relying on foodbanks. I do not think so.You may not like what the funny Dutchman says but look around and remove the rose tinted glasses and instead of voting Ukip, vote to take back control of your country, I hope we do this next time we get the opportunity. Helena

The grim picture the dutch visitor describes is not of course the result of failures by the welsh themselves - its the result of decades of exploitation and neglect by the british state.

The only thing we might be culpable for in wales is our third world public transport - the senedd has the powers to reregulate buses in wales but has chosen to do f*** all about it (presumably this is because senedd members drive and have no experience of what it's like to need buses to get around).

That pretty much sums up many of our valley communities and major towns in south Wales.

Once busy town centres are full of closed shops, Charity shops and Pound shops for the less well off and it shows. Those with plenty of money to spend, shop at the new Retail Parks or Cardiff city centre.

Whilst there are various reasons for these changes, the challenges that face south Wales have not been addressed by the Labour Party administrations that have run these areas for so long.

This is particularly true of the Labour MPs who represent us at Westminster. As is clearly the case with Owen Smith of Pontypridd, their interests lay elsewhere.